1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatically re-inked stamp, and particularly relates to an automatically re-inked stamp that has a stamp face and a bottom cover to conveniently prevent the stamp from inadvertently stamping.
2. Description of Related Art
Stamps with stamp faces that are automatically re-inked are popular at present. With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, a conventional stamp includes a stamp base (40), an ink pad (41), a character unit (50), a housing (43), a biasing member (not shown) and a bottom cover (not numbered).
The stamp base (40) has a hollow body (not numbered) with a bottom (not numbered), an open end (not numbered), two end faces (not numbered), a cavity (not numbered), two guide slots (42) and two rotation protrusions (not shown). The open end is formed at the bottom of the hollow body. Each end face has an inside surface (not shown). The cavity is formed inside the hollow body, communicates with the open end and has an upper section (not numbered). The guide slots (42) are longitudinally formed respectively through the end faces of the hollow body. The rotation protrusions are formed respectively on and extend in from inside surfaces of the end faces adjacent respectively to the guide slots (42).
The ink pad (41) is mounted in the upper section of the cavity of the stamp base (40).
The character unit (50) is mounted pivotally in the cavity of the stamp base (40) below the ink pad (41), selectively communicates with the open end of the stamp base (40) and has a bottom (not numbered), two ends (not numbered), a character plate (not numbered), two lugs (51) and a shaft (52). The character plate (not numbered) is mounted at the bottom of the character unit (50). The lugs (51) are defined respectively at and protrude out from the two ends of the character unit (50). The shaft (52) is mounted longitudinally through the character unit (50) below the two lugs (51) and has two ends (not numbered). The ends of the shaft (52) protrude from the ends of the character unit (50) and are mounted slidably and pivotally respectively in the guide slots (42) in the end faces of the hollow body.
The housing (43) is mounted slidably on the stamp base (40) and has a bottom (not numbered), a hollow body and an open end (not numbered). The open end of the housing (43) is mounted slidably around the stamp base (40). Pressing the housing (43), moves the character unit (50) downward, and the lugs (51) abut the rotation protrusions (not numbered) that rotate the character unit (50) around the shaft (52) and make the character plate face downward to stamp.
The biasing member is mounted in the housing (43) between the stamp base (40) and the housing (43). When the stamping task is finished, the housing (43) is released and is returned to its original position by the biasing member. When the character unit (50) rises, the lugs (51) abut the rotation protrusions and rotate the character unit (50) so the character plate faces up and is re-inked when it comes in contact with the ink pad (41). In this way, the stamp can automatically be re-inked and facilitate stamping continuously.
However, the stamp sitting on a desk may be pressed by accident and stamp the desk or a document on which the stamp is sitting by mistake, which is annoying. Consequently, a bottom cover was designed to solve the problem. The bottom cover consists of a bottom cap (60) and two clamps (64).
The bottom cap (60) has two ends (not numbered), a front edge (not numbered), a rear edge (not numbered), a panel (61), an outer lip (62), two inner lips (63) and two mounting slots (not numbered). The panel (61) is flat and has an outer edge (not numbered), a top surface (not numbered) and two ends (not numbered). The outer lip (62) is formed on and extends up from the top surface of the panel (61) at the outer edge. The inner lips (63) are formed on and protrude up from the top surface of the panel (61) inside the outer lip (62) respectively near the front and rear edges of the bottom cap (60). The mounting slots are formed between the inner lips (63) and the outer lip (62).
The clamps (64) are defined respectively near and protrude up from the ends of the bottom cap (60) and align respectively with the ends of the shaft (52) of the character unit (50), and each clamp (64) has a distal end (not numbered) and a clamping opening (641) are respectively defined in the two clamping portions (64). When the bottom of the stamp base (40) is placed in the bottom cover and the housing (43) is pressed down, the character unit (50) moves downward, and the clamping openings (641) clamp the shaft (52) and hold the bottom cap (60) on the open end of the stamp base (40). Consequently, inadvertent stamping is effectively prevented.
However, the bottom cover cannot hold the shaft (52) until the housing (43) is pressed down, which is inconvenient. Even if the housing (43) is pressed down, the shaft (52) may not align and be clamped by the clamping opening (641), thereby causing the character unit (50) to rotate so documents or a person's hands get ink on them from the character plate.
Therefore, the invention provides an automatically re-inked stamp to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.